of Cane Rosso ( canerosso.com) in Dallas. “These chefs get a
lot of press, so when they open a side project with Neapolitan
pizza, it gets a lot of attention with the public and spurs a lot
of people on the sidelines to try this style,” he says.

“The trend to eat healthier has been a big driver,” Jerriercontinues. “Neapolitan pizza is a very light, digestible dough,and the cheese is all-natural fresh mozzarella, usually made in-house. Customer sensitivity to ‘eating local’ encourages pizzamakers to take advantage of local produce. And even if you’readding meat to your pizza, it’s generally housemade or locallysourced sausage or house-cured charcuterie. That appeals to therising foodie movement.”However, some operators are more interested in capturingthe essence of Neapolitan pizza without bothering with allthose hard-and-fast rules, Wiener explains. “Beyond the tradi-tional Neapolitan pizzerias, Neapolitan-inspired pizzas are get-ting even more powerful,” he says. “More places are doing theartisan, wood-fired pizza concepts without the Italian-originingredients. That’s all over the place now.”With its emphasis on high-heat ovens that can bake a pie injust a couple of minutes, the Neapolitan model fits perfectlywith the fast-casual format, Jerrier says. “I think Anthony Car-ron at 800 Degrees has done an amazing job with that. He cre-ated a build-your-own model using high-end ingredients anda fast-service concept. Punch Pizza ( punchpizza.com) in Min-nesota does a good job with this, too. They make an artisanalpizza style much more accessible to a much broader audience.”L.A.’s Social Life is another example, serving up custom-madeNeapolitan-style 12” pies baked in a domed oven.

Flatbreads, Craft Sodas andGourmet Toppings

Speaking of old-world traditions, flatbreads, once a staple
in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, continue to find new

This chart illustrates the current size
of the world pizza market according
to region.

The pizza industry has enjoyed
moderate to strong growth in
various regions of the world
over the past year, with Eastern
Europe showing the largest
increase and North America, an
already mature market, showing
the smallest increase.